It began the day of Happosai's funeral, which had been a surprisingly solemn occasion. The fathers had to be periodically given The Look to prevent them from celebrating a great evil departing from the world because, after all, when it was all said and done you didn't disrespect the dead. But that part was not of any real importance, because nothing truly unexpected happened that day. The thoughts of all went out to the old man, though most were substantially less pleasant thoughts than others. It was strange to think it of such a persistant pest, but they would all miss him in their own ways.
Later on, now that was when things got a little interesting. When the families had returned home, Ranma had gone into the dojo in an attempt to work something out. He did his best thinking while in motion and nobody seemed to be in the mood for a spar. His father was off "raising a toast" with Soun to the recently departed. Mousse would've taken things a bit more seriously than he might've liked if the offer was extended, Ryoga was god only knows where, Shampoo and Ukyo might take it as an invitation for something a little more physical (or compound his stuff to think about in other countless ways... No, best leave that one be). And then there was Akane...
Yeah, that was the weird thing. She kept coming to the front of his thoughts for some reason. There was something wrong, something bothering him at a fundamental level and trying to figure out what the hell it was... well, it was driving him a little insane. Why was he even thinking about that uncute, sexless tomboy anyway? He should be thinking about something a little more day relevant. He should be thinking about...
"It's weird that he's gone, isn't it?" Akane said from the doorway.
Reluctantly, he turned to face her. She seemed to take it not as a personal slight, thank heavens. Perhaps she interpreted it as him dealing with the conflicting emotions that surrounded the day. Being rid of a great menace, but at the same time... dammit, he may not have acted like it at times but he was still a human being. That counted for something. Even if that person was him.
And then he just started talking. Anything to stop himself from thinking about the maddening obsession drilling its way through his mind. He still couldn't see it, still couldn't understand it and maybe... just maybe he didn't want to see it. He talked slowly and carefully about how Happosai was a total pervert that thought girls should only wear sexy clothes to show off their bodies, and that boys... well, the boys should just appreciate the view and not worry so much about it. He talked about how if the old pervert had his way, Akane would just not care about being looked at or checked out by horny boys. And then he talked about other stuff that he couldn't quite remember, because he got a bit distracted by her eyes, which were strangely fixed on his, not moving for a moment, scarcely blinking and letting him see right into them. Such pretty eyes. Why did she have to get so mad at him sometimes?
Suddenly, he shook his head. Huh. The thoughts were gone, for some reason. It was like it had been building up all day, waiting until this moment to release something... and it was gone now. Just flat out gone, without leaving a trace.
Fri Oct 29 01:34:23 2010